Hutch for garbage, trash or other articles



OC- 23, 1962 v. J. SALVADOR 3,059,838

HUTCH F'OR GARBAGE, TRASH OR OTHER ARTICLES Filed July l1, 1961 IN VEN TOR.

/41`f VA/v J. 5a VA 00e BY [6l Ik- A from/EY 3,059,833 Patented st. 23, 1962 3,959,838 HUTCH FOR GARBAGE, TRASH 0R OTHER ARTICLES Van J. Salvador, 917 Austin Ave., Madera, Calif. Filed July 11, 1961, Ser. No. 123,246 3 Claims. (Cl. 2292-432) This invention relates to a hutch for garbage, trash, and other articles, and has for an object to provide an improved hutch for conveniently storing garbage, trash, or other articles in a convenient location until the articles can be removed therefrom.

This invention is particularly intended for storing garbage or trash from a household, in a convenient location until it can be removed therefrom for disposal thereof, but is also useful in acting as a storage means for articles being received Within the home such as milk, dairy products, newspapers, or packages such as delivered from a store or market for use in the home.

It is an object of this invention to provide a hutch which will safely enclose the garbage, trash or other articles, until they can be removed therefrom, which will completely enclose the articles against escape of odors therefrom, if the articles are odor-producing articles, or will keep the articles clean and dry and protected from the weather.

A further object of this invention is to provide a hutch which may be mounted as a complete independent unit in any suitable location such as by providing supporting stakes which can be extended into the ground, or which may be secured to any fence or Wall, so that the articles may be stored Within the fence or Wall and yet be passed through an opening in the fence or wall when desired, where the wall may be the wall of a house, or the Wall of a closet or cabinet Within the house.

A further object of this invention is to provide a hutch which may be mounted in any convenient location and may be conveniently opened on one side for placing articles therein, and similarly, may be conveniently opened on the other side for removing the articles therefrom.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a hutch which may preferably be entirely weather-tight, thus protecting the articles stored therein against inclement weather such as rain or wind, and yet permit the articles to be stored and moved conveniently in either direction into the hutch and out of the hutch.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a hutch which, in one use, is particularly intended for receiving garbage or trash Within an enclosure extending to one side of a door frame, together With a door mounted on the door frame for moving the article through the open door frame as the door is opened, and in addition, to provide convenient means operable on one side of the door frame, for opening an access cover to the enclosure, and other convenient means operable on the other side of the door frame for opening the door through the door frame to the enclosure and where, preferably, both convenient operable means are pedal-operated means, independent of each other, so that both the access door and the door frame door can be opened and operated by the human foot, leaving the hands free.

With the above and related objects in View, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the hutch of this invention, looking at it from the door frame side, the door being partly broken away.

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational View of FIG. 1, being on line 2--2 of FIG. 3.

PEG. 3 is a sectional view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view on line 4 4- of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

There is shown at 10 the hutch of this invention. This hutch 10 includes a vertically extending door frame 12. The door frame 112, as here shown, is secured to and'supported on two spaced-apart vertical stakes .14 having sharpened ends 16 for supporting it above the ground 18.

However, it must be understood that the stakes 14 are, broadly speaking, a vertical support, having an opening, for supporting the hutch 10, and the hutch 10` may be mounted to any other vertical support having an appropriate opening therethrough such as any fence or Wall, not only a fence wall, but also the wall of a house, either the outer Wall or an inner wall of a house, or a cabinet such as customarily used in a house, and the entire hutch 1t) will be made of a size appropriate to the particular use for which the particular hutch is intended.

As here illustrated, the hutch is intended for storing a conventional garbage or trash can 20, so that garbage or trash may be placed therein through an access opening and then removed therefrom from time to time. However, instead of a trash can, any other container may be used, or the container may be entirely omitted and articles may be stored or placed in the hutch from either side thereof for storage and later removal from the opposite side thereof. Thus, while garbage or trash may be accumulated from time to time in the hutch from one side thereof, for disposal and removal through the other side thereof, it is obvious that it could likewise be used with substantially no change in construction, for receiving milk bottles, dairy products, laundry or other articles from outside the home and stored therein until it is picked up and removed by someone in the home, whether the hutch is located outside the home, or in a wall of the home.

As stated above, the door frame 12 is suitably mounted in any location. The door frame 12 is provided with a door 22 hinged at one side of the door frame as at 24 and biased to closed position by a coil spring 26, the door 22 being slightly larger than the door frame opening 23, and thus overlapping the opening 28 on all sides to provide a tight closure means thereagainst, suitable weatherstripping being provided, if necessary, to make the closure means entirely weather-tight.

At illustrated, a hand operable latch means 30 may optionally be provided for hand operation for keeping the door 22 in closed position and, if desired, any suitable lock may be made part of this hand-operable latch means Si). As illustrated, the latch means 30 consists of a latch lever 32 pivoted at 34 to a plate 36 secured at 38 to the door 22, and the latch lever 32 cooperates with a latch keeper 49 secured at 41 to the door frame 12. This latch means 30 is an optional feature and may be provided for certain uses, such as when the hutch is used for delivery of articles to the home, and a lock, operable by a key carried by the delivery man, may be provided so as to make the hutch theft-proof.

ln other cases, such as when used solely for garbage or trash disposal, the latch means 30 may be entirely omitted.

Carried on the rear of the vertically extending door 22 is a rearwardly extending shelf 42 secured to the door 22 adjacent the bottom thereof and of a size to conveniently fit through the door frame opening 28 when the door is in closed position. This shelf 42 acts to provide a supporting means for the articles to be stored on the shelf, in this case illustrated as being a garbage or trash can 20.

To insure against the article or can 20 falling off the shelf 42, a retaining ledge 44 is provided about a portion of the edge of the shelf 42. In this case, the retaining ledge 44 consists of a somewhat rounded wall extending upwardly from a part of the rear edge of the shelf 42 and rearwardly from the door 22 adjacent its hinged side, and almost to the top of the opening 28, and preferably extends at least slightly beyond the center of the rearmost portion of the shelf 42 to insure retaining the articles therein and prevent them from falling off the shelf 42 when the door and shelf mounted thereon is moved through the dooor frame opening 28.

In order to open the door against the bias of the spring 26 when the latch means 30 is omitted, or after the latch lever 32 has been disengaged from its latch keeper 40, there is provided a foot pedal lever 46 pivoted to the door frame 12 at 48. Secured to the pedal lever 46 at 50 is a link means 52 connected to a crank lever 54 secured to the door 22. In this case, the link means 52 consists of a ilexible cable partly extending through a tube 56 secured to the back of the .door frame. Depression of the pedal lever 46 by the human foot, when the latch means is either omitted or is disengaged, causes the cable 52 sliding through tube 56 to pull crank lever 54 and thus move door 22, together with its attached shelf 42 and ledge 44, to hinge about its hinge pivots 24 against the bias of spring 26 until the foot is removed yfrom the pedal lever 46, whereupon the spring 26 returns the door to closed position.

Obviously, the person having opened the door with his foot on pedal lever 46 and holding it open against the bias of spring 26, may either remove the can 20 therefrom, or any other articles on shelf 42 therefrom, or may replace the can 20 on the shelf 42 or place other articles on the shelf 42, as desired.

Extending rearwardly from and secured to the door frame 12 about the door frame opening 28, is an enclosure means 58. This enclosure means 58 includes a bottom wall 60 secured to and extending rearwardly from the bottom of the door frame 12, a somewhat semi-cylindrical vertically extending wall 62 extending upwardly from the rear edge of the bottom wall 60 and secured to the rear surface of the opposite vertically extending sides of the door frame 12, and a top wall 64 extending between the top edge of the semi-cylindrical vertical wall 62 and secured to the rear of the top member of the door frame 12.

This top wall 64 is provided with an access opening 66 permitting access through the top wall to the shelf 42 and to any articles to be placed therein or removed therefrom.

When intended solely for use in delivery of articles to the home, it is obvious that this access opening may be placed in any convenient location on the vertical enclosure wall 62, if desired, rather than the top wall 64, but otherwise, the construction and operation would be identical.

Hinged at 68 to the top wall is a closure member such as a lid 70, for covering or closing the access opening 66, it being obvious that the lid 70 may have a depending ilange 72 enveloping a raised flange 74 about the access opening 66 so as to make it rain and weather-tight, if desirable. Any other suitable weather-stripping means may, of course, be provided.

The lid 70 is biased to closed position by gravity but, if desired, a suitable coil spring 76 may be added about the hinge pin 68 for positively biasing the lid to closed position, said biasing spring 76 being particularly needed if the lid 70 is located on the vertical enclosure Wall 62.

In order that the lid 70 may be conveniently opened without the use of the hands, thus leaving the hands free for other purposes such as placing or removing articles into or from the hutch enclosure means 58, the lid 70 is provided with a latch means 78 on the side opposite the hinge pin 68. This latch means 78 consists of a keeper 80 secured to the enclosure wall 62, and a spring biased latch bolt 82 retractable from closed position through a latch plate S4. Secured to and extending from the rear end of the latch bolt 82 is a link means 86 here shown as a exible cable, and extending into a tube 8S secured vertically on the side of the vertical enclosure wall 62, the other end of cable 86 being secured to a pedal lever 90 intermediate its pivotal connection 92 at one end to the enclosure wall 62, and a foot pedal 94 at the other end. Stepping on the pedal 94 will cause the pedal lever 96 to pivot about its pivot 92 and draw the cable 86 downwardly to retract the latch bolt 82 from the latch keeper 78 and then, sequentially, to raise the lid 70 about its hinge pin 68 and hold it up, permitting the operators hands to place articles into or remove articles from the shelf 42 or the can 20, if such a can 2.0 is in position thereon.

In operation, when used for disposing of garbage or trash, the door frame 12 may be supported entirely independ-ently as illustrated, or supported on the door frame suitably placed about an opening on any suitable Wall or fence, or on any house wall or cabinet wall.

To place articles into or remove them from the enclosure 58 and the supporting shelf 42 therein, pedal 94 is depressed, opening the lid 70 and leaving the hands free to move articles through the access opening 66. To place articles into or remove articles from the enclosure through the door frame opening 28, the latch means 30, if present, is first operated and then, the foot pedal lever 46 is depressed to open and hold the door open while the can 20 or other articles are removed from or replaced into the enclosure on the shelf 42.

Thus, when used as a trash or garbage collection and storage means, with suitable Weather-stripping provided about both closure means, that is, both the door 22 and the lid 70, a substantially weather-tight and odor-tight hutch is provided. Garbage or trash may be placed through the access opening 66 when the lid 70 is open, into the can 20 and the garbage or trash collector, on their rounds, step on the pedal lever 46 to open the door 22, swing the door out from the enclosure carrying the can 20 with it, which can is removed temporarily to dispose of the garbage or trash, and then replaced back on the shelf. When the foot is removed from pedal lever 46, the spring 26 returns the shelf 42 and the article or can 20 supported thereon, back into the enclosure means S8.

It may likewise be used for receiving articles delivered to the home, such as dairy products, mail, or other articles, in which case, if desired, the lid 70 may be located on the vertical wall 62, although such is not absolutely essential.

If the hand-operated latch 30 is present, it may be rst operated by the delivery man, unlocking the same if a lock is provided, and then the article to be delivered is placed on the shelf 42 after the pedal 46 has been operated to make the shelf accessible to the delivery man. The door is the-n closed and locked, if desired, and the household gains access thereto on the other side of the wall or support means 44, by opening the lid 70 by merely depressing the pedal 94. It may similarly be placed within the house in any wall or a kitchen cabinet or sink cabinet for storage of garbage or trash or other articles.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

l. A hutch comprising a vertically extending supporting door frame, means for supporting said door frame, said supporting means defining a boundary between two normally separate areas, a door hinged to said door frame for closing a door opening therein, yieldable means urging said door to closed position, pedal operated means connected to said door for opening said door forwardly into one of said areas from said door frame, and enclosure means extending rearwardly into the other of said areas from said door frame comprising a bottom wall secured to the bottom of said door frame, an enclosing Wall eX- tending rearwardly from opposite Vertical sides of said door frame and secured to said door frame and a top wall extending from the top of said door frame and secured to said enclosing wall, supporting means secured on the rear of said door and extending through said door frame opening into said enclosure means when said door is in closed position and movable through said door frame when said door is moved toward open position, a movable closure means on said enclosure means providing access therethrough to said supporting means extending therein, said supporting means comprising a horizontal shelf secured on and extending rearwardly from said door, a vertically extending ledge on said shelf, said movable closeure means comprising a lid hinged to said top Wall of said enclosure means over an opening therein, latch means on said lid retaining said lid in closed position, pedal operated means connected to said lid latch means for first 11nlatching said latch means and then lifting said lid to open position, said latch means comprising a keeper mounted on said enclosure means, a retractable latch bolt mounted on said lid, and yieldable means biasing said bolt to keeper engaging position, said lid latch pedal operated means comprising a ypedal pivoted to the bottom of said er1- closure means, and link means connecting said pedal to said lid latch bolt for retracting said lid latch bolt from said keeper and then pivoting said hinged lid to open posinon.

2. The hutch of claim l, the edges of said door completely overlapping said door frame providing a weathertight closure, said closure means lid having a depending flange, an upstanding flange on said enclosure means extending about said access opening therein, said flanges cooperating to make said closure means weather-tight.

3. The hutch of claim 2 and independently operable latch means for securing said door to said door frame to prevent opening of said door by said door opening pedal operated means.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 270,701 Scott Ian. 16, 1883 316,884 Dreyer Apr. 28, 1885 2,474,101 Frothingham June 21, 1949 2,809,030 Clark Oct. 8, 1957 

